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Optional Module
Valid between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006
READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST
You should read the assignment carefully.
It is important to complete the Assignment Cover Sheet when you have finished your work. You must
complete the details and sign the declaration to confirm that the assignment is all your own work and your
tutor must sign to verify that it is your own work.
The length of the assignment must be no more than 3000 words. Marks will be deducted from assignments
that exceed the word limit.
This document consists of 3 printed pages.
IB06 01_4177_OPTION/4RP
 UCLES 2006
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MANAGING OPERATIONS
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UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS
Cambridge International Diploma in Management
Professional Level
2
Managing Operations – Optional Module
Title: Objectives through Operations to Success
Your start point for undertaking this assignment is to familiarise yourself with the
syllabus for this module and the associated assessment objectives and competence
criteria.
For this assignment you should work with your own organisation or one that is
familiar to you. Describe the organisation, its purpose, products and/or services and
the department or project you work for (or the department/project you have selected).
In general terms, explain why managing operations is important in achieving
organisational objectives and describe some ways in which organisations manage
their operations, both in terms of products and/or services.
Compare your findings with how your chosen department or project operates. Show
how this contributes to the overall strategy and objectives of this organisation.
Explain the operational activity of the organisation as a whole and indicate where
your department or project fits into this. Produce an overview of your department or
project and show the inputs, transformation processes and outputs, including how
materials, information and other resources flow through. This may be done
diagrammatically.
Using diagrammatic presentation, describe the production and information flow
through your department or project and indicate the critical path and any potential
bottlenecks. Describe the agreed standards of performance and specifications within
each part of the process and specify how quality is controlled and health and safety
is managed.
Describe how work is monitored against operational plans. Produce records from
previous periods to illustrate how this is recorded. Review activities and use these to
plan the work activities for your department or project for the next suitable period of
time, ideally about 2 months (but this timeframe may depend on the nature of the
business). Your plan should clearly show tasks to be achieved, timescales and
responsibilities. Explain how you will deal with unpredictable circumstances and
specify what these circumstances might be.
Monitor progress against the operational plan you have devised, keeping clear
records of quality and of how deviations from the plan were addressed.
Write a short report to your manager summarising your findings and identifying areas
for improvement in your chosen department or project in terms of operational
processes and/or resources. Clearly show how your suggestions will contribute to the
overall objectives of the organisation.
You must include in your assignment report all documentation, notes and materials
generated from each stage of the study.
© UCLES 2006
4250/01 2006
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You are not expected to include confidential information on your organisation, its
personnel or performance.
In writing the report, you should adopt an appropriate business format and show how
knowledge and understanding of managing operations have been applied in line with
the module syllabus.
At the start of your assignment report, indicate the number of words used which
should not exceed the maximum permitted total of 3000.
Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared
where possible. Every reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring
clearance have unwittingly been included, the publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.
University of Cambridge International Examinations is part of the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES),
which is itself a department of the University of Cambridge.
© UCLES 2006
4250/01 2006